Morbius the Living Vampire, a scientist named Dr. Michael Morbius Ph.D., is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and originally designed by penciler Gil Kane, the character, a living human suffering from vampiric abilities resulting from scientific rather than supernatural means, first appeared as an antagonist in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 (Oct. 1971), and went on to become a heroic, tragically flawed protagonist in his own series and other titles.